This itinerary was the Cook Islands leg of our 31-day trip to New Zealand and the Cook Islands.

It was basically an unwinding of the more active trip we did of both islands in New Zealand.

We did this over the last seven days of the trip covering two islands – Rarotonga and Aitutaki. Julie also took some time to do some property visits as part of her work.

I broke up this itinerary in this way because I felt that the Cook Islands part could be its own itinerary while the New Zealand part could also be on its own. Thus, if you feel so inclined for your trip planning, you can just take this Cook Islands part on its own without having New Zealand in there. Thus, the source and destinations after coming to and leaving Cook Islands may change depending on your situation.

Here’s a brief summary of the trip highlights and logistics from this trip…

Jump down to:  Trip Highlights ♦ Travel Itinerary

Muri Beach – This white-sand beach with a gorgeous lagoon seemed to be almost too quiet to be true for the main island of Rarotonga. But make no mistake about it, we saw people come here for snorkeling as well as sun-bathing. And it was as simple as it gets when it comes to vacationing and island life.

Honeymoon Island – This island was a sandbar island with knee-deep water and lots of blinding white soft sand, which was perfect for a sunny (albeit hot) stroll that you simply can’t get anywhere else. We had to take a boat tour here, which further illustrates how remote this place was. Thus, it wasn’t crowded, which was rare for a place like this.

One Foot Island – As part of the same boat tour, we also went to another island paradise with palm trees, white sandbars, shallow water, and seclusion. It’s kind of like how you’d imagine a tropical paradise would be.

Day 25: Fly from Auckland to Rarotonga

Overnight: Little Polynesian Resort (Rarotonga, Cook Islands)

This was a travel day where we picked up a rental car and drove to our accommodation.

Day 26: Rarotonga

Overnight: Little Polynesian Resort (Rarotonga, Cook Islands)

On this day, we had time to drive around Rarotonga Island. In doing so, we visited Wigmore’s Waterfall, Avarua, and Muri Beach and Lagoon.

Day 27: Rarotonga

Overnight: Little Polynesian Resort (Rarotonga, Cook Islands)

This was another day at leisure, but this time, we waded to a sandbar island just off shore from Muri Beach.

Day 28: Rarotonga

Overnight: Little Polynesian Resort (Rarotonga, Cook Islands)

On this day, Julie had to do some work so I was pretty much in the bungalow blogging and taking it easy.

Day 29: Travel from Rarotonga to Aitutaki

Overnight: Tamanu Beach (Aitutaki, Cook Islands)

On this day, Julie had to do some work so I was pretty much in the bungalow blogging and taking it easy.

Day 30: Aitutaki

Overnight: Tamanu Beach (Aitutaki, Cook Islands)

On our lone full day in Aitutaki, we did a tour that encompassed Honeymoon Island and One Foot Island. Later in the afternoon, Julie did more site visits for work.

Day 31: Fly Home

This was a long travel day where we were transported to the airport, then caught flights back to Los Angeles.